Japanese travelers coming to Arlington for 30th anniversary

Wednesday

Apr 23, 2014 at 7:55 AM

This year is the 30th anniversary of the Arlington-Nagaokakyo Sister City Program and 10th anniversary of the Student Exchange Program. In celebration of these milestones, 71 Japanese travelers including Mayor Oda of Nagaokakyo, Japan will be visiting Arlington in April.Twenty-one students from Nagaokakyo, Japan will be arriving in Arlington beginning on April 25 for 10 days as part of the Arlington-Nagaokakyo Sister City Student Exchange Program.The friendship between the two communities began in 1974 with a formal Sister City Agreement signed in 1984.The students are selected from a group of more than 100 applicants and receive academic credit for their visit. In preparation for their visit to Arlington, the students must attend 25 study sessionsThe students stay with volunteer host families within the community and will present performances at the 30th Anniversary Sister City Celebration at Town Hall, Arlington High School, Ottoson Middle School, Thompson Elementary School and The Cherry Blossom Festival.Anyone interested in hosting one of the guests or have any questions regarding the program, contact Joanne Routenberg at jroutenberg@yahoo.com.MORE EVENTSArlington-Nagaokakyo Sister City Program also has several upcoming events including a memorial event and bench dedication for Sister Cities founder Dick Smith, who traveled with groups of Arlingtonians to Japan from 1973 onward.It will be held at 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 27, in the Olmsted-designed Town Hall Garden, and the public is invited.Following the memorial event, the 30th anniversary of the program will be celebrated with 70 guests from Nagaokakyo, Japan, with dinner and entertainment from 6 to 9 p.m. at Town Hall. There are limited tickets available to the public, and more information about getting them can be done by emailing ssheffler@aol.com.There will also be a town-wide Cherry Blossom Festival from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday May 2, at Ottoson Middle School on Acton Street. This family-friendly, annual event features taiko drumming, performances by Japanese exchange students and an appearance by the Singing Samerai (which will include selectmen, school administrators, principals and others). There will also be booths offering a chance for people to try their hand at calligraphy and origami, to taste Japanese snacks and to learn more about the Arlington Nagaokakyo Exchange program.The event is open to the public, donations to support the program gratefully accepted.PROGRAM WILL RECEIVE AWARDThe Arlington-Nagaokakyo Sister City Program has been selected to receive the 2014 John Eliot Thayer Award of the Japan Society of Boston. Representatives of the program will receive the award at the Society's dinner on May 8.The Thayer Award is presented annually by the Society to a person or organization that has made a unique contribution to the Japan-U.S. relationship, especially in the fields of education or grassroots community-level exchanges.The award includes an honorarium of $1,000 and an inscribed silver sake cup. This year the committee will issue two silver sake cups; one for Arlington and one for Nagaokakyo.